ANT KATZ

Although the kashrut division of the Beth Din said they are working on a resolution, kosher consumers continue to point out, if the products are not removed from shelves or have strong stickers placed over the illegally-used hechsher, they will be eaten by people who think they are kosher.

The notice from the Beth Din read as follows:

This is a reminder that the cheeses manufactured by “Kee Ingredients” displaying the name “Kee Wings” on their packaging, contain an unauthorised Beth Din logo and cannot be eaten.

These cheeses are commonly found in hospitality venues such as airport lounges and are currently under investigation.

Their cheese range includes the following types of cheeses, none of which are currently acceptable:

• Blue
• Cheddar 6 month matured
• Gouda
• Belle
• Camembert

We are working to resolve this issue as soon as possible.

Updated: note comments below

The issue of a “packaging error” is frequent as manufacturers who make some kosher products and some not, will often ask their internal or external designers to design packaging and a hechsher can slip through.

This happened, for example, with a new flavour of Lays crisps about seven years ago. While some of their product is kosher as the spices are approved, others are not. So when Simba/Lay launched a new non-kosher flavour, the sample packaging design used had a BD hechsher and it slipped through all the approval processes unnoticed.

Globally, kosher consumers feel comfortable in the fact that they are protected from such “packaging errors” as they own the trademarks and copyrights to their hechsherim and are hence able to insist on the removal of wrongly labelled products from shelves until the matter is resolved.

Often, the manner of resolving the issue is simply that the company sends representatives to place stickers over the hechsher in all outlets.

On other occasions, the manufacturer has an existing relationship with the BD and simply forget to get the new product approved. This is then done and people go on with their business.

Among the regular complaints by readers in letters, comments and social media posts is that the kashrut division of the Beth Din do not advise them on three things:

• With the original announcement, it is not stated whether the product is “un-kosher” or if its production is “unsupervised” and they are planning to regulate it?;
• What interim measures are being taken to protect consumers? Is the product being recalled or withdrawn from shelves, etc; and
• The BD does not put out a follow-up notice to advise on the outcome of the matter – which leaves consumers not knowing if the product on shelves is approved or not.